Research Journal from L'École de design Nantes Atlantique

Entrées du April 2010

12 April 2010   Billets

Design & Research

In October 2009 Christian Guellerin, Managing Director of L’École de design spoke at the symposium organized by the International Association of Societies of Design Research in Seoul. Upon his return he brings to the fore the dos and don’ts of research in design and what it must do to grow into a true scientific discipline

I have recently given a lecture at the symposium organized by the IASDR – “International Association of Societies of Design Research” 2009* – a research-oriented conference presenting the work of a large number of researchers and universities from all over the world. Many vibrant debates took place and much knowledge was produced during this wide-scoped event.

However I was puzzled by such a profusion of information about “research” and “design”, two terms many of us are striving to bring closer.
In doing so we must be wary not to bite our own tail like business schools, who call “marketing research” quantitative or qualitative studies often limited to statistic charts interpreted in a not-so-scientific manner that lacks the method and depth of sociological research. Why naming “marketing research” activities that are no more and no less than the very practice of “marketing”?

Why naming “design research” all reflections about creation and innovation?

Can design be recognized as a full-fledged scientific discipline?

Design is but an emerging discipline that is not very visible yet in the field of research. Some take advantage of this state of things to engage in studies pertaining to sociology, psychology, educational theory or hard sciences and claim they are doing “design research.” To me this working method is irrelevant and will not help design be accepted as a research discipline.

Along the same line using the term “design research” to refer to projects carried out by professionals does not seem very relevant to me either.

The central issue of this debate is the very nature of design. Can design, as a practice, really be defined as a science? The criteria to answer this question have not been decided upon yet. And it harms the image of “design research” to rank behind this label initiatives stemming from other disciplines, innovation-oriented initiatives, or new production processes applied to products developed according to the usual methods.

We must be cautious here. Otherwise we run the risk of blurring the message conveyed by a young discipline – design – still in the process of defining its very identity and of proving its legitimacy on the academic level. Doing “debased” sociology, or debased psychology to try and codify “design-induced emotions” is not a serious way of tackling the issue.

We must aim at centering research on a specific unique field based on a language of representation and on an interface linking all the knowledge produced by human sciences or hard sciences with the social and economical issues ruling the world we live in. Design is a language and an interface that brings human beings, ideas and knowledge together to shape a better world for tomorrow.

If we want to promote design as a science we must beware not to mix everything up just because design is all over the place and because conducting activities involving reflection makes one feel important.

Christian Guellerin, Managing Director of L’École de design.

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2 April 2010   Interviews   new eating habits

“Meals are extremely significant moments in forming a family’s values.”

Interview with Jean-Jacques Boutaud, semiotician

Since 2008, CADI has investigated the field of knowledge transfer by interviewing experts who agreed to supervize fifth-year students in carrying out their final degree projects. This is an effort to build up a corpus of testimonies to come to a better understanding of the collaborative and representative methods resorted to by innovation and creation players, taking into account economic, cultural and evrironmental trends. In March 2010, we evolved the print issues into an electronic…


Jean-Jacques Boutaud teaches Communications at the University of Burgundy and is an expert in semiology and semiotics. He is particularly interested in the art of dining and has written a series of books exploring the link between semiotics and communication. He is in charge of a research laboratory dedicated to communication within the sensible universe, and his team focuses on documenting topics such as image, mediation and the notion of sensibility in information and communication-oriented initiatives (LIMSIC).

1001 saveurs - final degree project by Morgane Bily, carried out with the help of Jean-Jacques Boutaud, 2008-2009

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2 April 2010   Interviews   tangible interfaces

“If you don’t give thought to design, users will not take to the technical tools you’ve created.”

Interview with Thomas Bottini, researcher in computer science for music

“Knowledge Transfer(s): the interviews

Since 2008, CADI has investigated the field of knowledge transfer by interviewing experts who agreed to supervize fifth-year students in carrying out their final degree projects. This is an effort to build up a corpus of testimonies to come to a better understanding of the collaborative and representative methods resorted to by innovation and creation players, taking into account economic, cultural and evrironmental trends. In March 2010, we evolved the print issues into an electronic…

Thomas Bottini holds a degree in computer engineering from the Technological University of Compiègne (France). In parallel to his engineering training, he studied  human sciences and the philosophy of  artistic creation-related content. His current research into  creating tools for the  advanced reading and writing  of multimedia documents  demonstrates his keen interest in studying the relationship  between digital technology and artistic creation. To further study this link, he has worked in collaboration with musicologists from the IRCAM (French institute of research and musical/acoustic coordination) to develop as a cross-disciplinary team a multimedia environment dedicated to musical analysis. In 2006 he created a tool to help organize musical analysis in tables (Musique Lab Annotation).

MUE - Auréien Pasquier's final degree project carried out with the help of Thomas Bottini, 2008-2009

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Tags: Interviews · tangible interfaces

1 April 2010   Symposiums & Conferences   Essays

Sciences fiction and design : Jules Verne vs Léonard de Vinci

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Tags: Symposiums & Conferences · Essays